On February 13th, 2017, Chai Feldblum gave the final lecture in Temple Law’s Presidential Transition Lecture Series. Feldblum is a Commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). As one of five members on the bipartisan commission, she has focused on employment civil rights issues and has spearheaded significant changes in the interpretation of federal non-discrimination laws. In particular, she has focused on the employment of people with disabilities, sexual orientation and transgender discrimination, and harassment prevention. Prior to working at the EEOC, Commissioner Feldblum was a Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center where she founded the Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic and worked on various issues of social justice. Additionally, Commissioner Feldblum founded Workplace Flexibility 2010, played an integral role in drafting and negotiating the American Disabilities Act of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and worked to advance LGBTQ rights under the original Employment Nondiscrimination Act. She has devoted much of her career to civil rights advocacy and regularly produces scholarship on the intersection of law and politics as they relate to social justice. Commissioner Feldblum received her B.A. from Barnard College, her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and clerked for Judge Frank Coffin of the First Circuit Court of Appeals and for Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun.

In her talk for the Presidential Transition Lecture Series, Commissioner Feldblum first noted that the EEOC was created by Congress with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which barred employer discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or religion. Under the Act, anyone who wants to bring a claim against an employer for discrimination must first go through the EEOC. The EEOC then investigates said claim and usually either negotiates with the employer, or gives the employee a “right to sue letter” so people can take their own case to court. Commissioner Feldblum also emphasized the importance of working with state and local officials in the investigation and implementation of anti-discrimination laws. In addition, the EEOC is tasked with interpreting the law through regulations, guidance, and precedence. The five person commission votes on regulations and guidance that advance the work of the agency. She discussed recent developments in EEOC priorities and regulations, especially those regarding LGBTQ employees. She also warned that so-called strategic enforcement plans–which focus on LGBTQ protections, pregnancy accommodations, and background checks–are subject to change under the new administration. To conclude, Commissioner Feldblum stated, “Law matters, Statutes matter. The Constitution matters.”

Jonathan Grode, U.S. Practice Director at Green and Spiegel, joins the podcast to discuss the evolving landscape of business immigration law. Grode, who serves as an adjunct professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law, also shares humanitarian considerations and an anecdote from 2017’s travel ban.

Professor Stefanie A. Lindquist (Editor-in-Chief of Temple Law Review, Volume 61) joins the podcast to discuss the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Lindquist serves as deputy provost and vice president for academic affairs at Arizona State University and has written extensively on the Court, including in her book, “Measuring Judicial Activism.” The […]

The Parliament Podcast welcomes Judge Nelson Diaz (LAW 1972) to discuss his forthcoming memoir, “Not from Here, Not from There.” The book chronicles Diaz from his youth in the Bronx to his ascent to becoming the first Latino judge to serve in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, general counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban […]

Temple Law Review, Volume 91 has launched the publication’s first podcast. In its first episode, the podcast welcomes Steven Silver (LAW 2013) to discuss the Supreme Court’s Murphy v. NCAA decision, local adoption of sports betting, and related considerations such as integrity fees and data agreements. The episode is available on both SoundCloud and YouTube.